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90-year-old Hilton Head Island murder suspect being held in Savannah

A 90-year-old Hilton Head Island man was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime in connection with the death of his wife of 62 years.

On Thursday morning, John Haw Cross Sr. was served with the two arrest warrants at the Beaufort County Courthouse prior to a bond hearing in which he was released to a secure psychiatric facility in Savannah, Daniel Brownstein of South Carolina's 14th Judicial Circuit said in a press release.

Cross is accused of fatally stabbing 84-year-old Page Arrington Cross in their home at the Seabrooke retirement community on June 24 before stabbing himself and shooting himself in the head. The couple was found by a housekeeper, who asked the community's manager to open the locked door.

"Our main concern is that he remains in a locked-down facility and that he continues to receive the psychiatric treatment he needs," Solicitor Duffie Stone told the court.

John Cross has remained hospitalized since the incident. His family has arranged for him to continue receiving medical and psychiatric treatment at Savannah Cottage of Chatham, a locked-down facility in Savannah.

Judge Carmen Mullen ruled that Cross, who is confined to a wheelchair, must remain at the facility and is only permitted to leave for medical appointments when he is accompanied by a caretaker or family member. She also ordered he undergo a psychological evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.

The next step is for his case to be presented to the Beaufort County Grand Jury for an indictment, Brownstein said.